5 Ways to Keep Grandparents' Gift Giving Under Control

OMG. If your kids are anything like my son, then they're absolutely beyond spoiled by their grandparents. And when I say spoiled, I mean, "If Mommy won't buy it for me, I can probably talk Grams into getting it the next time we're out shopping" kind of spoiled. (Yep, that's my kid.)

And while it's understandable for grandparents to want their grandchildren to have everything (and anything) during the holidays, oftentimes they tend to go overboard and buy them gift after gift after gift -- to the point that you just want to look at them and say, "Enough, already!"

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Being that I'm an only child, and my son is an only child, thus making him the only grandchild -- my parents definitely do way more than their fair share of making his adorable little face light up brighter than the tree on Christmas morning.

But now that he's getting a little older, it's probably high time that I tried to reel them in a bit as far as how many presents they wind up giving him. Here are a few tips I may even have to try this year in the hopes that they know when to "just say no" to giving their credit cards a beating.

1. Have them clean your playroom -- Yes, literally have them come over to your house and clean up your playroom at the end of each day. When they realize just how much stuff your kids have, odds are good that they'll get the message.

2. Set a gift limit -- If your children's grandparents tend to be really stubborn, laying some ground rules as far as how many gifts they are allowed to give might help keep them in line. (I said might. It's at least worth a shot.)

3. Set a dollar limit -- Simply tell them that you'd prefer they don't go over xyz dollars when it comes to what they get your kids. (Again, this one is easier said than done, but worth a try.)

4. Give them a list -- If you want to try and control how many presents the grandparents buy -- then give them a list of presents to buy and insist that they stick to it. (Easy enough.)

5. Have a heart-to-heart -- Sit them down and explain to them that you are hoping to teach your kids that giving is just as much fun as receiving this year, so they can help you instill this message in the kids by keeping the presents to a minimum.

What other tips do you have for keeping the grandparents under control this year?